Hallstatt!

I finally got to visit the place that I have wanted to go to the most since coming to Austria. When I originally found out that I was coming to Austria I wasnt the happiest camper. I was a bit disappointed and I needed to find ways to get excited. So I google image searched Austria and the most beautiful picture came up. Which I proceeded to set as the backround of my computer. 

This was the picture and I used to look at it everyday to get myself excited about living in Austria. But little did I know it was very close to Graz and completely manageable to get to. So I finally made my journey there yesterday. We didn't really pick the most amazing day to get considering it was cold and rainy but nonetheless it was beautiful. We got there in the morning and took a ferry over to Hallstatt then checked out all of the sights. Due to rain we parked ourselves in a cafe for quite some time to eat some traditional Austrian food. The city is fairly small so we walked the majority of it and at the end found ourselves at a nice little Kinderspielplatz (playground). This playground had literally the coolest things in the entire world. So me and 8 of my friends (all in our 20s) spent plenty of ti me reliving our childhood in this beautiful town. We then went up to the top of one of the mountains where the salt mines are. This gave us the best view and it was literally breathtaking. Unfortunately I forgot my camera, the most important accessory. But I managed to get some mediocre pictures on my phone to commemorate this experience.

The Robinson sisters take Europe

  Ashley came to visit me this past week and I decided I would show her all that Europe has to offer, well what I wanted to check off of my life before I left. We did a few days in Graz where I showed her the lovely little city that I reside in. We went to a few sights that I hadnt seen so that was nice. But then it was time for the big traveling. We hopped on a bus and went to Venice for our first stop. We arrived later in the day and decided to head onto the island to get a few things done. We went to the beautiful Doges palace and toured around the ancient history. Then we wandered around the city and got some dinner. The beauty of Venice is that you really get the most out of it by aimlessly wandering, finding things and then hoping you happen onto some piazza that you are familiar with. This was my second time in Venice but being there for Carnevale was definitely a whirlwind where I didn't get to truly experience the city.  We also managed to sneak into a glass blowing demonstration. A truly Bill Robinson move, and we were so happy we broke the rules for this one. 

     The next day we went back onto the island and had a great Italian lunch on one of the main canals. Then the rest of our day consisted of walking around and stopping to rest on small canals and watch everything around us. Venice is definitely a great people watching city. We stumbled upon a boat race, and old man in a gondola taking pictures of us and also a guy who wanted his picture taken with us. I guess it is helpful to be tan enough to be mistaken for an authentic Italian. We honestly had the perfect day walking in and out of shops and just relaxing to take in the view. Also it didn't hurt that the weather was gorgeous. 

     Our next stop was to go to Barcelona! Neither of us had ever been to Spain so this was definitely an exciting experience. Barcelona is a gorgeous city. Being on the beach, having amazingly unique architecture and such a youthful vibe makes it a city you just cant get enough of. Our first stop was to go on a bus tour so we could get all of our history and sightseeing out of the way. We stopped at La Sagrada Familia, one of the most famous churches in the world. It was created by Gaudi, but is such an ornate creation that he died before it was completed, it actually still isn't completed after more than 100 years. Then we stopped for a traditional Spanish lunch and stopped for a siesta so we could rest up for the beach. Being from the Ocean state I have been craving a beautiful sand beach and that is just what Barcelona gave me. After the beach we made our way down the packed street of La Rambla to get some authentic seafood paella. This is a traditional dish of the region and it was pretty tasty. Although I do think it could use a little hot sauce. I should probably start carrying it in my purse. But on the upside sangria is everywhere in Barcelona and when you order it they literally give you a glass large enough to swim in! 

    On our last full day in Barcelona we again took advantage of the beautiful weather and made it a beach day. We grabbed a picnic and ate some tasty snacks while taking in the sand and the surf of Spain. Later we adventured to the cathedral of Barcelona and the Batllo House built by Gaudi. This was one of the most stunning things I have ever seen. And of course my camera died right before I could take pictures of it. But it is such an interesting and beautiful work of art. The next day we flew into Vienna so I could give Ashley a crash course on the capital of Austria. which I think I did rather successfully. Then she flew home and I was left to count down the days until I will be back in the U.S.! 

Beach Vacationing in Croatia!

    As soon as I got back from London I was told that everyone I knew was planning a trip to Croatia. So of course I decided I needed to be a part of it. We compiled a nice small group of eleven people and went out our way. We went armed with train tickets to Zagreb, backpacks and no plans past that. As we got to Zagreb we decided we should get our act together and think about what to do for the next four days. So we looked at the bus schedule and hopped a ride to Zadar. Zadar is a mix of history and the coast so it has the great vibe of tourism and relaxation. When we got to Zadar we were smitten, although we still had no where to sleep that night. After haggling with a Croatian woman about staying at here house we decided to hope for the best and go into the city to find a hostel. Luckily the whole city of Zadar has wifi! So we quickly found an excellent location in the middle of the city and headed off to the sunset. According to the crazy woman at the bus station Zadar has the third most beautiful sunset in the world, so we were anxious to test this out. It was definitely the truth. There is also something called the Sea organ on the water which was were excited to check out. According to  my trusty source wikipedia  "there are 35 musically tuned tubes with whistle openings on the sidewalk. The movement of the sea pushes air through, and – depending on the size and velocity of the wave – musical chords are played. The waves create random harmonic sounds." This may not sound cool but standing by a beautiful sunset on the coast and listening to this is really a unique experience. 

     The next morning Mindy and I set out to find coffee while everyone was getting ready and we stumbled upon a huge open market. Everywhere you looked there was amazing fruits and veggies so of course I had to stop and buy the most perfect tomato in the world. Awesome purchase on my part. Did I mention that Croatia is super cheap? For the two of us to have some delicious pastries and coffee it was approximately 4 euro. So as a tourist Zadar is definitely a bang for your buck city. So since we are all so spoiled we decided that we have had enough history and wanted to hit the beach. So we packed lunches and trekked to the coast. The rock coast, because there is no natural sand on their beaches. It was in the low 70s but still sunny enough to have an enjoyable time on the beach. Especially when we all decided to get into the freezing cold Adriatic sea. The water was amazingly clear and beautiful and I likened the temperature of the water to the ocean in Maine around July. So it was actually pretty nice for me coming from the Northeast. Of course all of my warm climate friends didn't feel the same way but regardless we enjoyed it. 
   After a quick nap we decided to go out to a great dinner of seafood! I ordered so delicious seafood pasta and if I have to say so it was better than my grandmas. Which is really saying a lot. It was a great meal, in a beautiful place with great people. The next morning I set off to Zagreb, wandered around there for the day and then made me way back to Graz. It was honestly the trip of a lifetime. How often do you get the chance to take 11 of your friends to Croatia to go to the beach and just kick back. Its probably something I will never do again, and thats what this experience is all about. 

London Calling!

    Lets just preface this trip by saying that even if it was the worst experience of my life and I hated it it still would have been amazing because it was my first time in an English speaking country in three and a half months. That doesn't seem like such a big deal but try it out and see what you think. I was making small talk all over the UK i was so excited. Someone behind me at the grocery store? People at restaurants? You better believe I was taking advantage of our common language. The weekend of May 9th I decided to take the UK by storm and have a little jaunt across the pond. As soon as I flew from Graz to Stansted I was basically ecstatic by all of the English ads and people with cheeky accents. I stayed with my friend Eric and our first matter of business was to get a proper burger. This was no regular burger, I got to have cheddar cheese which to all those Vermonters and Americans that means nothing. We eat cheddar like it is going out of business. Well not in central Europe! Those succulent bites were enough to double think my decisions to live in Austria. Being adventurous travellers such as ourselves we tried to maximize our time and visit Scotland while I was in the UK. This was done by taking an extremely spacious, comfortable and luxurious overnight bus from London to Edinburgh. Im clearly kidding, night buses are awful and cramped. I have never actually felt like a homeless person in my life until the time I washed myface and brushed my teeth in the bathroom of a bus station. Living the dream over here. But quite honestly it was the most efficient way to get there and a way to have the most time possible. I did make Eric promise that Scotland would be worth my time and I would gauge this by two things.

1. Seeing people in kilts 

2. Hearing bagpipes 

     Lucky me as soon as I stopped being a homeless squatter in the bus station we explored the city. I immediately saw people in kilts. Success. Then as we were walking around in the distance over the Scottish hillside I hear the faint tune of bagpipes. It seemed way too easy! For my whole life the Robinson side of my family has been telling me how Scottish we are and what our clan is and how our tartan looks. So it was really a special moment for me to be able to be in Scotland, a place I know that my grandfather really adored. But, now I know why everyone in Braveheart was always rebelling and pissed. The weather is Scotland is atrocious! It literally always rains, in waterfalls. Walking up to Edinburgh castle seemed almost treacherous with the amount of rain pouring down on us. So to dry off we dipped into a nice little restaurant called Maggie Dicksons. This place is famous in Edinburgh because of its namesake. Poor Maggie was executed, pronounced dead and while her family was carting her body home she suddenly woke up and was declared fine! So after our little history lesson we decided to have a little fun. We went on the Scotch whiskey tour where we learned all about the process of creating and aging whiskey. I literally learned things I never even fathomed. It was a great tour topped of by a visit to the largest Scotch whiskey collection in the world and a shot. It definitely cemented the fact that I am not a whiskey drinker. Then of course since it was still pouring we set out to find another cafe. This time we went to the Elephant house where J.K. Rowling wrote a good amount of the Harry Potter books. Being a Harry Potter freak this was a dream come true, their pastries were pretty delicious as well.

      The next day we topped off our trip to Scotland with a 12 hour bus tour of Loch Ness and the Scottish highlands. Believe me after a day of being soaked to the bone sitting on a bus all day was an absolute joy. We passed the memorial to William Wallace, which of course led me to spout out as many Braveheart references as possible. Then we made our way into the Scottish highlands, quite arguably one of the most beautiful places on earth. It literally looks just like Braveheart. After driving through the Highlands with some lovely scottish background music we made it to Loch Ness. This is a place I honestly never expected to visit. But just to think that I have been there is so amazing. We took a tour around Loch Ness, and saw Nessie.Thats a lie of course we didn't see Nessie. But nonetheless it is a beautiful lake and it was great to be a part of the folklore and excitement. Finally when we got back into Edinburgh there was a glimmer of sunlight. Just enough to capture some spectacular pictures and be on our way back to London.

   After yet another amazing overnight bus where a small birdlike girl was sleeping on my shoulder we finally made it into London. Then it was time to kick it into high gear and do the London in a day tour. I saw all of the obligatory sights and some that I was unbelievably excited about such as platform nine and three quarters and Abbey road! I also got to see all of the historical royal sights! But the crowning moment of my day was definitely getting fish and chips from a little hole in the wall in the middle of nowhere London. And it was amazing, honestly I could eat it everyday! My U.K. adventure was awesome, I am so glad I made it over the pond to see some excellent things! 

Me in front of the tower of London.

My Oh My the Month of May

After my whirlwind month of April I didn't think that anything would ever top all the the things that I had seen or the things I had done. Then May started. May was an amazing month. The mayor had all of the exchange students to a dinner where he gave us free food and wine, score.

The weather was beautiful, perfect for tanning!Then all of the exchange students took a trip to Southern Styria to go on a wine tour! 

 And I also had a visit from my favorite (albeit only) sister! So now since I have been the lamest blogger in the world I have to attempt to recreate all that I did so in 40 years my grandkids will think I am cool and exciting.

Where has the time gone?

   As my mother so kindly reminded me yesterday when I was skyping her I will touch down in Boston in almost exactly two months. Three months ago when I arrived I would have said the day couldn't come soon enough. But now as I think about it I can't even imagine what it will be like to live in Rhode Island/Vermont again. Don't get me wrong I am extremely excited to live with my friends in Vermont and start my senior year of college(Gasp of anxiety about that one). I am even excited to go back to a country when I understand the language and know how to order at the deli. But its an extremely bittersweet thought. I love Austria more than I would have ever imagined. I feel like when I go home and think back on Austria it will feel fake because it has been such a surreal adventure. Being dropped into a different country not knowing a single person or how to communicate with people scared me beyond belief. I used to lie awake at night and ask myself why I would ever want to subject myself to this. But now I realize that along with that discomfort and crippling fear is the most amazing experience of my life. I have met so many interesting people and travelled amazing places. Since my last blog I went to Prague and Munich with some friends from UVM. These are two places that I would highly recommend visiting. Prague has an amazing old world charm and is a beautiful place to visit. The food in Prague was incredible and being a foodie I loved every gravy laden potato and meat combination that I ate.

 Munich has such a fun vibe to it I couldn't help but love it. Plus I was with some great friends from home so that always makes travelling a bit sweeter. We managed to go on Fruhlingfest weekend, which means Springfest weekend. So while UVM had their Springfest we all had our own in Munich. It was such an incredible time and it led me to decide that Germany is my favorite country. So to commemorate that I bought a stein that was way too expensive but gorgeous and such a great souvenir.

 

 I feel like I would be incomplete without this experience. So as I reflect on the last three months, I look forward to the next two with total excitement. I have some amazing trips planned and my sister is coming to visit in a few weeks so I can share my experiences with her. So I plan to make the most out of my next few months here because there is a thesis and grad school waiting for me at the end of this journey. Two things I am not exactly jumping for joy about. So yes if anyone ever asks if study abroad is a life changing experience, it is. You just have to get past the initial fears to dive in and love every second of it.

                                       Loving my life Mini- Oktoberfest weekend in Munich

Eurotripping: Family Edition

So since I have been away for what seems like forever I figured I would do a quick recap of what this trip has brought me. My Uncle Jim and Dad came into the airport April 3rd and we had an amazing reunion at the Schlossberg Hotel. Quite arguably the nicest hotel I have ever been to. Photos do not do it justice but it was honestly majestic. 

And that is just a picture of our living room. I did not let them rest but rather we decided to kick their jet-lag. Since it was a gorgeous day we went to a quaint little outdoor cafe and ate lunch. Then we went to the most epic part of Graz, the Schlossberg. Its basically just a clocktower on top of a big hill, but the people in Graz love it. it has amazing views of the city and on a gorgeous day its the place to be. After I ran them around all day we went to a great Italian restaurant where i could get chicken! To most Americans this isn't a big deal, but to study abroad students its basically gold. Due to the way chickens are raised here (not factory farmed) the prices are crazy. So on my meager student budget chicken is a luxury. We called it a night and got ready to explore Graz for one more day. The next day we hit up the Schloss Eggenberg, a beautiful old castle and also the armory where they keep ancient weaponry. All in all Graz was a success. The weather held out and my family loved the quaint charm.

Off to Vienna! On the first day we explored the Schonbrunn Palace. It was a palace for Austrian royalty but now they allow tours. As we got there I was excited to show them the easter market because there was some delicious food there last time we went. The tour was great but we were exhausted so we rested a bit before venturing into Stephansplatz for some traditional Austrian cuisine. They both had their first Austrian schnitzel and sacher torte, a must have dessert. The second day in Vienna we wandered around the city and went into St. Stephen's cathedral. It was a beautiful place but of course my dad couldn't help but want the bird's eye view from the top. So I confronted my fear of heights and took an elevator up to the top. In between moments of shaking with fear and fighting the onset of an anxiety attack I got to enjoy the beauty of Vienna from above. Even tho it was a bit drizzly it was still a great sight.

Then hit Switzerland, a country I have literally always wanted to go to. In my mind it was going to be all cheese, chocolate, and watches just dripping from the alps. Apparently thats not quite how it works, at least not in Zurich. As we got to our hotel I was slightly confused, why was this nice Marriot in the middle of something called a Techno park and where were the mountains..all I saw was a crane outside of my window. Well once I got over my issues with Zurich I really started to enjoy it. Yes things are expensive, never let someone trick you and tell you it isn't. Unless you are prepared to spend $45 on a pasta dish I suggest not travelling there. Even though I was not paying for anything (thanks Dad) I still cringed every time the bill came. As a cheap college student one of those bills could have fed me for weeks. But Zurich is a beautiful city, we were there over Easter and we found a quaint church in ENGLISH to go to and then had fondue for dinner. The look on my face in this picture is pure joy that cheese was the main staple of my meal. It was an amazing time. But we decided Zurich didnt need four days so we cut our trip in half and made our way to the alpine town Luzern.

Luzern is about an hour train ride from Zurich and as soon as we were on the train watching the mountains we knew we were in for real Switzerland. I could already envision myself frolicking in the Alps. Luckily when we got there the weather changed and turned out to be beautiful unmasking the glorious mountains. We didn't waste any time and as soon as we arrived we decided to go up Mount Pilatus. Imagine gondolas at Stowe...but that go up about 7000 feet. It was wild and once again i was confronting my crippling fear of heights. I would have to say that going up that mountain was one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. Close your eyes and imagine the alps....exactly as expected. 

Luzern is exactly the type of sleepy town that I had been looking for in Switzerland and I have to say that it stole my heart. The second day in Luzern turned out to be even more amazing, while trying to decide what to do we stumbled upon a boat cruise. This boat literally brings you right through the alps while cruising along gorgeous Lake Luzern. If I thought they day before was amazing I was in for a treat. It was a gorgeous day and it was one of those experiences that I never wanted to end. Being casual alpine travellers we decided to go down to the beach later that day and have a picnic at sunset. Eating delicious cheese, fruit, bread and wine from Switzerland capped our perfect love affair with Switzerland. 

      Next we were on to Roma! Since I am Italian, Italy is of course my favorite country. I love the food, the people and the history. But mainly the food. After a scary taxi ride from the airport (honestly the worst driving I have ever experience) We go into our hotel. We couldn't have asked for a better location, it was right across the street from the Trevi fountain, one of the best landmarks in Rome. We used that first night to get acquainted with the area and establish ourselves as regulars at a restaurant...literally we went there three times in two days. I got to meet up with my friends from UVM which was amazing, it always shocks me how small Europe is. The next day we got to hit all of the important Roman architecture and more importantly we toured the Vatican. Since becoming a die-hard Angels and Demons fan at approximately 14 years old I have been waiting to see the Vatican forever. We went on a three hour tour and still barely scratched the surface of all of the amazing history within the smallest country in the world. I am not Catholic but touring the Vatican was an amazing time. I can only imagine all of the secrets within those walls. The next day it poured so what did we decide to do? Oh walk around outside through the Roman forum and the Colosseum of course. Walking through history that old was honestly unbelievable. I couldn't fathom that thousands of years ago people were making beautiful art and goods, so far ahead of their time. I was so impressed with the Roman forum but by the time I got to the last pile of rocks and I was soaking wet it was due time to go. The next day I had to say goodbye to the family and I flew back to Austria while they flew back to the states.
 

This trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Spending time with my dad and my uncle, two people I love so much and experiencing the trip on a lifetime with them was incredible. The sights that we saw and the times we had together were priceless. (Although I am sure my Dad's wallet doesn't feel the same way) This has been the highlight of my life. Ich liebe Europa!